Melbourne City's Kuen hitting his straps and targeting more

Hitting his straps after an interrupted preseason, Melbourne City attacker Andreas Kuen views team success as more important than his own. But given his recent form, those might just go hand-in-hand.

After dealing with an injury-interrupted preseason, Melbourne City attacker Andreas Kuen has increasingly begun to hit his straps in recent weeks. And after signing a two-year deal to trade in Austria for Australia in August, the 29-year-old is looking to hit new heights as he continues to settle into life Down Under.

Absent from his side’s round one A-League Men win over Newcastle thanks to a troublesome ankle and restricted to an off-the-bench role in a round two Melbourne Derby defeat to Melbourne Victory as a result, the impact that Kuen can have on his new side has been readily apparent in four subsequent starts – the 29-year-old averaging more than one goal involvement a game in scoring two goals and three assists.

Helping City to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Western Sydney the week prior, the former Austrian youth international had his best game in his short time in Australia last Friday when he scored once and set Yonatan Cohen up to score twice in a 4-1 win over Brisbane Roar.

“I came here to be an important player for this team, so I hope I can help the team in any way; if it's assists or goals,” Kuen said. “In the end, for me, the most important thing is that the team is successful. And when a team is successful, I think all the players are doing really well. I hope I can be a good player in this league.

“It was a good option to come here now in the summer. I was a free agent and I wanted to see something new. I didn't want to go home to Austria. The option to come here to Australia, to this amazing club here in Melbourne City, was a good option.”

Landing in Melbourne after departing Greek Super League side Atromitos in August – he previously spent most of his career in the Austrian Bundesliga, including 73 games with Sturm Graz – Kuen signed with City a month after they “reluctantly” parted ways with Tolgay Arslan – envisioned as helping to fill the attacking void left by the German.

Of course, given that Arslan, who just helped Sanfrecce Hiroshima to a second-place finish in the J1 League, was arguably the best player in the league last season – scoring 18 goals and adding a further seven assists across 34 games in all competitions – expecting any replacement to reach those same heights feels unwise. But across his last four games, Kuen has begun to demonstrate that he has the potential to become one of the league’s better players in his own right.

And ostensibly, his output should only improve as he finds full fitness (he’s been dealing with illness in recent weeks), begins to become more acclimated with the ins and outs of the A-League Men, and adjusts to being on the other side of the world from friends and family; his fiance and dog, Lilo, are still in Europe, Kuen becoming rapidly acquainted the stringent quarantine requirements for importing pets into Australia.

“I think the quality [of the A-League Men] is quite good, quite high,” he reflected. The teams are really well structured and have individual quality. Also, I need to get used to the physicality. So it's a hard league, so that's what I can say. And I need to get used to it.

“Also with the referees, not getting every foul that I want! I need to get used to this style.

“But I think the quality is really good. You can also see that the [Socceroos] have good players and they do really well in World Cups. So I think the quality of Australian football is really, really good.”

Of course, speaking of Socceroos, Kuen’s rise at City has come without the services of Mat Leckie and Marco Tilio, who are set to be absent once again when Auckland FC visits AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon and, most likely, won’t return until a New Year’s Eve fixture with Central Coast.

Taking the field with this international duo, as well as starting striker Max Caputo, who is targeting a return from a broken leg in the new year, should serve to boost both Kuen’s impact and the team’s fortunes so, needless to say, he’s looking forward to it.

“We were really unlucky with these injuries,” he reflected. “I hope everybody gets back really, really fast. For sure, we need to get these players back because they all have amazing qualities. I'm looking forward to playing with these guys.

“From the beginning, when came into the dressing room, the players welcomed me really well. Everybody was a nice guy. How the training is set up, everybody gives 100%, I think the club is in a good way.”

Header Image: Melbourne City